Method and apparatus for coiling strip



Feb. 13, 1962 A. TEPLITZ 3,021,086

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR COILING STRIP Filed Feb. 3, 1959 CONTROLCONTROL CONTROL CONTROL INVENTOR. Alfred Teplitz BY 910M461? W ATTORNEYCONTROL Feb. 13, 1962 I Filed Feb. 3, 1959 A. TEPLITZ METHOD ANDAPPARATUS FOR COILING STRIP 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. Alfred Teplii'zATTORNEY Feb. 13, 1962 A. TEPLITZ 3,021,086

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR COILING STRIP Filed Feb. 3, 1959 5 Sheets-Sheet3 Fig.6.

INVENTOR. Alfred Tepliiz ATTORNEY.

Feb. 13, 1962 A. TEPLITZ 3,021,086

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR comma STRIP Filed Feb. 5. 1959 5 Sheets-Sheet 4|66 CONTROL INVENTOR. Alfred Teplitz ATTORNEY.

Feb. 13, 1962 A. TEPLlTZ 3,021,086

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR COILING STRIP Filed Feb. 5, 1959 5 Sheets-Sheet5 Fig.l4.

.2 T w Ll- T 8 38 9 INVENTOR. Alfred Teplitz MW ATTORNEY.

Unite This invention relates to a method and apparatus for coiling stripand more particularly for coiling strip being processed continuously athigh speeds. For example, the invention may be used at the delivery endof a continuously producing -stand tandem cold reduction mill, acontinuous annealing line or a continuous electrolytic tinning line.Methods and apparatus presently used for this purpose have variousdisadvantages. They are expensive and so slow that the speed of a highspeed processing line must be reduced to such an extent that theprocessing may not be carried out properly. In all cases, the slow speedreduces the output of the processing equipment.

It is therefore an object of my invention to provide a method of coilingstrip traveling at high speed without greatly reducing the speed of thestrip.

Another object is to provide apparatus which coils strip inexpensivelyat high speeds.

These and other objects will be more apparent after referring to thefollowing specification and attached drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a schematic plan view of my invention as incorporated in atandem rolling mill;

FIGURE 2 is view taken on the line IIII of FIG- URE 1';

FIGURE 3 is a view taken on the line IIIIII of FIG- URE 1;

FIGURE 4 is a view taken on the line IV-IV of FIG- URE 1;

FIGURE 5 is an end view of FIGURE 4;

FIGURE 6 is an enlarged plan view showing the reel block equipment of myinvention;

FIGURE 7 is a view taken on the line VIIVII of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 8 is a view taken on the line VIIIVIII of FIGURE 7;

FIGURE 9 is a side elevation of the belt wrapper used in my invention;

FIGURE 10 is an end view looking toward the right end of FIGURE 9;

FIGURE 11 is a plan view of a coil brake used in my invention;

FIGURE 12 is a side elevation of the coil brake of FIGURE 11 showing itsrelationship with a formed coil or strip;

FIGURE 13 is a view taken on the line XIII-XIII of FIGURE 12;

FIGURE 14 is a view of coil discharge apparatus used in my inventionshowing its relationship with the reel blocks; and

FIGURE 15 is a transverse sectional view of the equipment of FIGURE 14.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, reference numeral 2indicates the penultimate roll stand of a continuous tandem rollingmill. The rolls are driven from motor 4 in the usual manner with acontrol 6 being provided for the motor 4. A strip S passes from therolls 2 to the last stand 8 which is driven from a motor 10 providedwith controls 12. From the roll stand 8 the strip S passes over adeflector roll 14 through a thickness gage 16 to a pair of pinch rolls18. Except for the pinch rolls 18, the parts so far described areconventional. From the pinch rolls 18 the strip S passes to a single cutdrum-type flying shear 20 which may be of the type shown in my copendingapplication, Serial No. 735,222, filed May 14, 1958. Guides 22 areprovided between the rolls 18 and shear 20. From the shear 20 the strippasses between a top deflector roll 24 and a bottom guide 26 and isguided into a coiler 28 with the aid of a bottom deflector roll 30. Thepinch rolls 18 are solid bodied cylindrical rolls mounted in bearingchocks 32 which in turn are mounted in housing 34. Hydraulic cylinders36, mounted in the housing 34, raise and lower the top roll 18 in theconventional manner. The rolls 18 are driven from a motor 38through gearbox 40 and shafting 42. A control 44 is provided for motor 38. Theflying shear 20 includes a drive motor 46 and control 48. A preferredconstruction for the mounting of roll 24 is shown in FIG- URES 4 and 5.As there shown, roll 24 consists of a cylinder 50 mounted for rotationon anti-friction bearings 52 which are mounted on a shaft 54. The shaft54 is mounted in chocks 56 which are slidably mounted in grooves 58provided in brackets 60. A spring 62 is mounted in the bottom of eachgroove 58 and bears against the bottom of the associated chock 56.Screws 64 bearing against the top of chocks 56 are used to adjust theroll for pass line requirements. The bottom deflector roll 30 ispreferably mounted in a manner similar to deflector roll 24 but withupward acting pass line adjustment. The coiler 28, as best shown inFIGURES 6 to 8, includes a pair of conventional collapsible reel blocks66a and 66b which are mounted for rotation in anti-friction bearings 68aand 68b. The bearings 68a and 68b are supported in a yoke 70 which inturn is mounted for rotation in anti-friction bearings 72. The bearings72 are supported in a housing 74. The yoke 70 is rotated by means of agear motor 76 through gearing 78. A control 80 is provided for the motor76. The yoke 70 includes a hollow cylindrical portion 82 through whichpasses a sleeve 84. The sleeve 84 is rotatably mounted in bearings 86and is driven by a motor 88 through shaft 90 and gears 91. A dynamicbrake 92 and control 93 are provided for the motor 88. The sleeve 84rotates block 66b through gearing 94. A shaft 96 passes through sleeve84 and is rotatably mounted therein. Shaft 96 is driven by means of amotor 98 having a dynamic brake 100 and control 102. The shaft 96 drivesblock 66a through gearing 104. Blocks 66a and 66b are expanded andcollapsed by horizontal movement of the usual push rods 106a and 106b.Motion is imparted to the push rods 106a and 1116b by means of actuators188a and 10812 which are mounted on the yoke 70. The actuators 108a and1198b are of any conventional type similar to the electro hydraulicmechanisms sold by General Electric Company under the trade nameThrustor. The horizontal motion of actuators 108a and 1418b is impartedto push rods and associated reel block by means of linkages 110a and11012. The actuators 108a and 1118b are provided with collector shoes112a and 112b, respectively. Power is provided to the actuator 108a or108b when in the lower position through the associated shoe 112:: or11217 from electrical conductor rails 114. The coiler also includes thebelt wrapper 116. The belt wrapper 116 includes a frame 118 mounted formovement toward and away from the block 66a or 66b, whichever is in theupper position, by means of hydraulic motor 120 having a control 121. Agenerally horizontal arm 122 is mounted on the forward end of frame 118by means of hinge 124. A pulley 126 is mounted on the end of arm 122. Asecond arm 128 is pivotally mounted on the frame 118 and has a roll 130on its outer end. A third arm 132 is mounted on the frame 118 and has apulley 134 mounted on its outer end. A roll 136 is also mounted on theframe 118. A belt 138 passes around rolls or pulleys 126, 130, 134 and136. A spring 140 has one end attached to the frame 118 and the otherend attached to the arm 128 so that the arm 128 is biased to the left,as shown in FIGURE 9,

thus providing belt tension. A magnet 142 is suspended from the frame118 and arm 122 in such a way that the belt 138 slides over its bottomsurface during the time the belt wrapper isin operative position. Themagnet 142 may be permanent or an electro-magnet. When the hydraulicmotor 120 moves the belt to the right, as shown in FIGURES 1, 2 and 9,toward the reel block 66a the belt 138 is forced into the configurationshown in full lines and almost completely cnvelops the block 66a. Ex

.cept for the magnet 142 and the arm 122 being hinged,

this mechanism is conventional. The purpose of having the arm 122 hingedis to insure contact of the belt 138 with the deflector roll 30 and topermit a small upward movement of pulley 126 during retraction of thewrapper so as to allow clearance of the coil wraps placed on the block66a duringthe wrapping operation.

Two retractable coil brakes 144 and 146 are provided adjacent the reelblock in the lower position, one on each side of the coil C beingformed. Since the coil brakes are identical, except for length ofstroke, only one will be described. A pair of channels or rails 148 and158 are arranged parallel to each other, their flanges facing eachother, and are mounted on structural supports 152 and 154. Two wheels156 are mounted on the inner sides of each of the rails 148 and 150, asshown. A carriage 158 is mounted between rails 148 and 150 and includestwo spaced apart rails or channels 160 arranged parallel to the rails148 and 150 and with their flanges facing the rails 148 and 150. Plates162 connect the channels 160. An air cylinder 164 provided with acontrol 166 has one end pivoted to the support 152 and its piston rod167 connected to the carriage 158. A wheel 168 is mounted on the rearend of each channel 160 and rides in rails 148 and 150. A rod 170extends between the channels 160 at the forward end thereof andpivotally supports arms 172 and 172a. Arm 172 consists of two side bars174 connected by means of a bearing plate 176 and tube 178. Arm 172 alsoconsists of two side bars 174a connected by plate 176a and tube 178a.The ends of a flexible brake belt 180 are fastened to tubes 178 and178a. The carriage 158 is moved toward and away from the reel block bymeans of the air cylinder 164. The wheels 156 are provided in order tosupport the long stroke or movement of the carriage without interferencewith the coil C being formed.

In order to remove the coil C to a discharge ramp 182 a carriage 184 isprovided beneath the reel block 66a or 66b. Carriage 184 is providedwith wheels 186 which may be driven in any suitable manner so as to movethe carriage along rails 188 from a position on the pass line of themill to a position to one side thereof. A coil hoist 190 is mounted onthe carriage 184 for vertical slidable movement. Power for raising andlowering the coil hoist 190 is provided by a conventional hydraulicmotor 192 mounted on carriage 184. An auxiliary hydraulic cylinder 194is mounted on the upper part of hoist 190 and is used to tip platform196 at the top of the hoisting stroke to discharge the coil C on theramp 182. A foot bridge 198 is provided to permit access to the reelblocks for removal of cobbles, for inspection, and the like.

The operation of my device is as follows:

Assume the situation wherein a coil C being wound on the block 6611 isalmost complete, the rolling mill is running at normal delivery speed,the pinch rolls 18 are running at a speed equal to the mill speed withthe upper roll out of contact with the strip, the shear is running at aperipheral speed equal to the mill speed with its knives retracted, theyoke 70 is stationary, reel blocks 66a and 66b are in the positionsshown with their mandrels expanded, brakes 144 and 146 are fullyretracted, belt Wrapper 116 is in working position with the beltstationary and the magnet 142 magnetized, and the carriage 184 is on thecenter line of the mill with the hoist 190 in its lowest position. Therolling mill and all rotating parts are then decelerated to terminatingspeed, for example,

1200 feet per minute. At the same time, or immediately thereafter, thetop roll 18 is lowered to place pressure on the strip S and the speedsare adjusted so that the strip tension between the mill stand 8 androlls 18 is slightly greater than the tension between rolls 18 and reelblock 66b; reel block 66:: is accelerated so that its peripheral speedis substantially equal to terminating speed with the belt 138 coming upto speed with it; and brakes 144 and 146 are moved close to, but not incontact with, the coil C. These steps may be carried out manually orautomatically as desired. The brakes 144 and 146 are then moved intocontact with coil C, shear 20 is operated to sever strip S, and reelblock 6612 is decelerated to a stop by dynamic braking of motor 88combined with the effect of magnetic brake 92. Immediately following thesevering of the strip the end of the strip is drawn against belt 138 bythe flux of magnet 142 and enters the gap between belt 138 and reelblock 66a upon which it is wound. After ten to fifteen wraps have beenmade to insure a tight grip on the block the belt wrapper 116 isretracted and the mill is accelerated to normal speed. The top roll 18is then raised to clear the strip and the motor voltages adjusted sothat the lower roll 18 will not slip on the strip. As soon as the formedcoil C on reel block 66b is brought to a stop, coil hoist 190 is raiseduntil platform 196 comes into contact with the coil C, the reel block66b is collapsed by actuator 108b and the carriage 184 is movedoutwardly through its full travel, carrying with it the coil C restingon the platform 196. The reel block 66b is expanded, the hoist 190 israised to its upper limit and the cylinder 194 tips the platform 196 asshown in broken lines in FIGURE 15 so that coil C will roll by gravityonto discharge ramp 182. The platform 196 is then lowered by cylinder194, coil hoist 190 is dropped to its lowest position and carriage 184returned to its original position shown in full lines in FIGURE 14. Inthe meantime, when carriage 184 has reached the limit of its travel awayfrom the mill, yoke 70 is slowly rotated in a clockwise direction, asshown in FIGURE 8, to reverse the positions of reel blocks 66 and 66b.The speed of rotation of yoke 70 is sufiiciently low that the reel drivemotor control has no difliculty in maintaining correct strip tensionduring the position change. This completes an operating cycle which isrepeated when the new coil on block 66a is of sufficient size. Thepurpose of the pinch rolls 18 is to prevent snap-back of the strip Stoward the mill when the strip issevered under tension. The pinch rollsalso prevent sudden strip contraction and provide a slight excesstension in the strip to minimize the effect on strip gage of change intension between the time the strip is severed and full reel tension isreestablished. It should be noted that the brakes 144 and 146 are notprovided to stop rotation of the reel blocks 66a and 66b but to preventcentrifugal force from loosening the outer Wraps of the coil and thefree end of the strip from flying outwardly when the strip is severed.

While one embodiment of my invention has been shown and described itwill be apparent that other adaptations and modifications may be madewithout departing from the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for coiling strip comprising a shear in the path of travelof said strip,- a belt wrapper aligned with the path of travel of saidstrip, means for directing the leading end of said strip insubstantially a straight line from said shear to said belt wrapper, apair of rotatable reel blocks, a rotatable yoke for supporting said reelblocks in spaced apart relationship, means for rotating said yoke toselectively position said reel blocks in cooperative relationship withsaid belt wrapper to receive an end of said strip, the reel block incooperative relationship with said belt wrapper being movable to aposition remote from said belt wrapper after several convolutions ofstrip have been wrapped therearound, and means for rotating each of saidreel blocks independently of the rotation of the other reel block, saidlast named means being operative regardless of the position of itsassociated reel block.

2. Apparatus for coiling strip comprising a belt wrapper aligned withthe path of travel of said strip, a pair of rotatable reel blocks, arotatable yoke for supporting said reel blocks in spaced apartrelationship, means for rotating said yoke to selectively position saidreel blocks in cooperative relationship with said belt wrapper toreceive an end of said strip, the reel block in cooperative relationshipwith said belt wrapper being movable to a position remote from said beltwrapper after several convolutions of strip have been Wrappedtherearound, a pair of coil brakes one on each side of the reel block insaid remote position, and means for moving said coil brakes intoposition to engage the outer convolution of a completed coil of strip.

3. Apparatus for coiling strip comprising a shear in the path of travelof said strip, a belt wrapper aligned with the path of travel of saidstrip, means for directing the leading end of said strip insubstantially a straight line from said shear to said belt wrapper, apair of rotatable reel blocks, a rotatable yoke for supporting said reelblocks in spaced apart relationship, means for rotating said yoke toselectively position said reel blocks in cooperative relationship withsaid belt wrapper to receive an end of said strip, the reel block incooperative relationship with said belt wrapper being movable to aposition remote from said belt Wrapper after several convolutions ofstrip have been wrapped therearound, means for rotating each of saidreel blocks independently of the rotation of the other reel block, saidlast named means being operative regardless of the position of itsassociated reel block, a carriage beneath the reel block in said remoteposition, means for moving said carriage from a position beneath thestrip pass line to a position to one side thereof, a hoist mounted onsaid carriage, a coil receiving platform on said hoist, and means fortilting said platform to remove a coil therefrom.

4. Apparatus for coiling strip comprising a shear aligned with the pathof travel of said strip, a belt wrapper aligned with said shear on theexit side thereof, means for directing the leading end of said strip insubstantially a straight line from said shear to said belt wrapper, apair of rotatable collapsible reel blocks, a yoke for supporting saidreel blocks in spaced apart relationship, means for rotating said yoketo selectively position said reel blocks in cooperative relationshipwith said belt wrapper to receive an end of said strip, means forrotating each of said reel blocks independently of the rotation of theother reel block, said last named means being operative regardless ofthe position of its associated reel block and means for expanding andcollapsing said reel blocks, the reel block in cooperative relationshipwith said belt wrapper being movable to a position remote from said beltwrapper after several convolutions of strip have been wrappedtherearound.

5. Apparatus for coiling strip comprising a shear aligned with the pathof travel of said strip, a belt wrapper aligned with said shear on theexit side thereof, means for directing the leading end of said strip insubstantially a straight line from said shear to said belt wrapper, apair of rotatable collapsible reel blocks, means for rotating said reelblocks, a yoke for supporting said reel blocks in spaced apartrelationship, means for rotating said yoke to selectively position saidreel blocks in cooperative relationship with said belt wrapper toreceive an end of said strip, means for expanding and collapsing saidreel blocks, the reel block in cooperative relationship with said beltwrapper being movable to a position remote from said belt wrapper afterseveral convolutions of strip have been wrapped therearound, a pair ofcoil brakes one on each side of the reel block in said remote position,and means for moving said coil brakes into position to engage the outerconvolution of a completed coil of strip.

6. Apparatus for coiling strip comprising a shear aligned with the pathof travel of said strip, a belt Wrapper aligned with said shear on theexit side thereof, means for directing the leading end of said strip insubstantially a straight line from said shear to said belt wrapper, apair of rotatable collapsible reel blocks, a yoke for supporting saidreel blocks in spaced apart relationship, means for rotating said yoketo selectively position said reel blocks in cooperative relationshipwith said belt wrapper to receive an end of said strip, means forrotating each of said reel blocks independently of the rotation of theother reel block, said last named means being operative regardless ofthe position of its associated reel block, means for expanding andcollapsing said reel blocks, the reel block in cooperative relationshipwith said belt wrapper being movable to a position remote from said beltWrapper after several convolutions of strip have been Wrappedtherearound, a carriage beneath the reel block in said remote position,means for moving said carriage from a position beneath the strip passline to a position to one side thereof, a hoist mounted on saidcarriage, a coil receiving platform on said hoist, and means for tiltingsaid platform to remove a coil therefrom.

7. Apparatus for coiling strip comprising a pair of pinch rolls, meansfor feeding the strip to said pinch rolls, a shear on the exit side ofsaid pinch rolls, a belt wrapper aligned with said shear on the exitside thereof, means for directing the leading end of said strip insubstantially a straight line from said shear to said belt wrapper, apair of rotatable collapsible reel blocks, a rotatable yoke forsupporting said reel blocks in spaced apart relationship, means forrotating said yoke to selectively position said reel blocks incooperative relationship with said belt wrapper to receive an end ofsaid strip, means for rotating each of said reel blocks independently ofthe rotation of the other reel block, said last named means beingoperative regardless of the position of its associated reel block andmeans for expanding and collapsing said reel blocks, the reel block incooperative relationship with said belt wrapper being movable to aposition remote from said belt wrapper after several convolutions ofstrip have been Wrapped therearound.

8. Apparatus for coiling strip comprising a pair of pinch rolls, meansfor feeding the strip to said pinch rolls, a shear on the exit side ofsaid pinch rolls, a belt wrapper aligned With said shear on the exitside thereof, means for directing the leading end of said strip insubstantially a straight line from said shear to said belt wrapper, apair of rotatable collapsible reel blocks, a rotatable yoke forsupporting said reel blocks in spaced apart relationship, means forrotating said yoke to selectively position said reel blocks incooperative relationship with said belt wrapper to receive an end ofsaid strip, means for rotating each of said reel blocks independently ofthe rotation of the other reel block, said last named means beingoperative regardless of the position of its associated reel block, meansfor expanding and collapsing said reel blocks, the reel block incooperative relationship with said belt Wrapper being movable to aposition remote from said belt wrapper after several convolutions ofstrip have been Wrapped therearound, a carriage beneath the reel blockin said remote position, means for moving said carriage from a positionbeneath the strip pass line to a position to one side thereof, a hoistmounted on said carriage, a coil receiving platform on said hoist, andmeans for tilting said platform to remove a coil therefrom.

9. The method of coiling strip traveling at high speed comprisingshearing the strip, feeding the leading end of the sheared strip insubstantially a straight line from the shear to a belt Wrapper around areel block, removing the reel block to a position remote from the beltwrapper after several convolutions of strip have been wrappedtherearound, positioning a second reel block in cooperative relationshipwith the belt wrapper while continuing winding of the strip on the firstreel block, again shearing the strip and feeding the leading end of thesheared strip in substantially a straight line from the shear to thebelt wrapper around the second reel block, stopping rotation of andremoving the coiled strip from the first reel block while continuingwinding of the strip on the second reel block, then removing the secondreel block to a position remote from the belt Wrapper While continuingwinding of the strip thereon, and then returning the first reel block toa position in cooperative relationship with the belt wrapper.

10. The method of handling strip traveling at high speed comprisingdecreasing the speed of the strip, shearing the strip, feeding theleading end of the sheared strip in substantially a straight line fromthe shear to a belt Wrapper around a reel block, removing the reel blockto a position remote from the belt Wrapper after several convolutions ofstrip have been wrapped therearound, positioning a second reel block incooperative relationship with the belt wrapper while continuing windingof the strip on the first reel block, bringing the speed of the stripback to its original high speed, slowing down the speed of the stripwhen the coil on the first reel block approaches finished size, thenshearing the strip and feeding the leading end of the sheared strip insubstantially a straight line from the shear to the belt wrapper aroundthe second reel block, stopping rotation of and removing the coiledstrip from the first reel block while continuing winding of the strip onthe second reel block, then removing the seeond reel block to a positionremote from the belt Wrapper while continuing winding of the stripthereon, then returning the first reel block to a position incooperative relationship with the belt Wrapper, and bringing the speedof the strip back to its original high speed.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS887,418 Morse May. 12, .1908 1,139,077 Safford May 11, 1915 2,258,348Biggert Oct. 7, 1941 2,281,423 Egge Apr. 28, 1942 2,325,504 Goins July27, 1943

